Airbus has celebrated the delivery of its 10,000th aircraft — an A350-900 for Singapore Airlines. The milestone event, on 14th October, was marked by a special ceremony in Toulouse hosted by Airbus Group CEO Tom Enders and attended by Goh Choon Phong, CEO of Singapore Airlines.
The aircraft is the sixth A350-900 for Singapore Airlines, out of a total order for 67. Featuring a special “10,000th Airbus” logo, the aircraft will be used to launch the airline’s new non-stop services between Singapore and San Francisco later this month.
The 10,000th Airbus delivery comes as the manufacturer achieves its highest level of production ever and is on track to deliver at least 650 aircraft this year.
Singapore Airlines placed its first order with Airbus in 1979 and over the years the carrier and its subsidiaries have ordered every successive model produced by the manufacturer. Today the mainline carrier operates the A330, A350 XWB and A380, while its regional subsidiaries Silkair and Tigerair fly aircraft from the single aisle A320 Family.
Airbus delivered its first aircraft, an A300B2, to Air France on 10 May 1974. Initially working exclusively in the widebody sector with the A300 and A310, the manufacturer moved into the single-aisle market in the mid-1980s with the launch of the A320.
Airbus has recorded over 16,700 orders for its various models, and its aircraft are flying today with more than 400 airlines worldwide. The company’s backlog of 6,700 aircraft on order for future delivery is the highest ever recorded by any aircraft manufacturer and represents some 10 years of full production at current rates. The most recent 1,000 aircraft deliveries have taken just 19 months.